As I think I may have mentioned before, I love my iPhone. Now there is a new model, which is currently costing stupid money in Thailand, even if you can find one. It doesn’t do much more than the old version; but it does have new software which allows access to a store full of applications, many of them free.
Of course my iPhone was comprehensively hacked by the boys in Bangkok to enable it to be used in Thailand; so I could wait until they had sorted out a way to hack the new software, and then travel to Bangkok and leave it with them for three hours while they fiddled with it and gave it back to me, kindly filled with Thai ringtones, music and movies; all of which I always ask them not to install; but they do anyway.
But on the web I found a group of people who have been working to crack the new phone and the new software, and yesterday they made the hack available for download. Did I dare try it…? Upside would be an iPhone running 2.0, downside would be a broken phone suitable only for throwing at the cats; and no prospect of a replacement phone at a reasonable cost for maybe months.
So… I downloaded the program, downloaded the new software from Apple, downloaded two bootloaders (whatever they are), and away I went. The first bit is easy, follow the program and it builds a hacked software file to stick on your iPhone. Then you connect the phone to iTunes and put it into dfu mode. I don’t know what dfu means (don’t fuck up?), but getting there requires a bit of dexterity with the buttons on the phone; but after three attempts I succeeded. Then you tell iTunes to restore the phone and offer up the hacked version for the restore. Then you sweat and glance at the phone through your fingers for fifteen minutes while it goes through all the steps; or alternatively the screen goes black and you can never use the phone again.
But it worked! And I could make a phone call! And I could download applications from iTunes! Techno-joy!!
Coolest application downloaded so far: Shazam. Walking through a shopping mall and really enjoying that bit of Kenny G elevator music? (If you are, lose 10 points and go and shoot yourself). Turn on Shazam and it will tell you what is playing and even find it for you in iTunes so you can buy it. We tried this at home with random tracks from our music collection and it got them every time, often within a few seconds. I have no idea how it works, but it is very clever. She who must be obeyed decided to really test it by singing into it. Her song went something like “Doe, a deer, a female deer; Ray, a dah dee dah dee dah.” She didn’t know all the words and she certainly didn’t know any of the tune. Shazam failed to identify it, she declared it a failure. I declared it a relief that she had stopped trying to sing.
Also a very smart wi-fi remote from Apple which will enable me to kick off music tracks whilst in another room and scare the shit out of she who must be obeyed when she is sitting next to my computer. That alone is worth the hassle of the upgrade.
Comments 🔗
2008-07-21| The Ghost saysApple is wanting me to pay $9.95 to get to 2.0 for my Touch. After making me pay $19.95 to get the apps (mail, weather, stocks, maps) that should have been on there in teh first place.
And they include the $20 apps in the $10 upgrade now.
I spent 17000 baht on my 16 GB touch. Why am I less worthy than those who spent less on an 8 GB iPhone?
It’s a rhetorical question. I know why, but it pisses me off to no end just the same.
I’m happy with my jailbroken 1.14 Touch. Got more apps than I can use.
BTW, do you download other non-Apple apps? If not, then why hack the 2.0? If you’re just going to stick to the app store, then why the hassle?
2008-07-21| Spike saysI did download other apps, that’s all there was before the apps store opened. Now I can download both.